Bella's Gift
by VampireFeatures
Summary: Edward never came back after new moon. It is the year 2072, and Bella is still human. When death comes looking for her, she discovers a power that she never knew she had. E/B Multipule POV. A/U  Story previously known as Nivius  R&R Please!
1. Chapter One

**A/N: I don't own Twilight! R&R please! Am trying to make this story better! New plot!**

**B POV**

At the age of eighty-five, I, Isabella Marie Swan lie within death's grasp. I can almost feel it closing in on me, with each raspy breath, and I know without a doubt that by the time the next month has run its course, my time will have run out.

_He never came home._

I can hardly call it _his_ home anymore. He hasn't set foot in forks for sixty-eight years. None of them have. And here I _rot_ while they're God-knows-where. Now there is no-one. I am alone, in Charlie's old house, in the still, small town of forks, sitting on a loveseat so old that _he_ once sat on it. Those were the best times of my life, and I remember them as though they were yesterday. The nightmares have faded over time, and I am left now, with only dreams, to take me to a place far away from here, where he and I were once happy. I am more like Charlie than I realised. After my mom left, Charlie couldn't bring himself to change anything. The kitchen cupboards are still as yellow as they were then, when she painted them. I never changed anything. Everything from the carpets, to the lights, to the old front door is still the same. I could never bring myself to throw anything away. It felt like throwing away my memories. Sometimes late at night, when everything is quiet, I allow myself to remember for a moment. I think of the way the air felt on my face when he ran with me. That giddy, rushing feeling. When the wind blows through the trees, it sounds like him, running... and I let myself hope and believe that it is. Not that he would want anything to do with me now. After all, he never did.

He was a part of my life for little over six months, so why is it that in over one-hundred and thirty times as long he has never left my thoughts.

_He said it would be as though he never existed. _

It was as Charlie's old silver clock struck five, I realised I was never going to see him, in all of his immortal glory ever again. I would never again hear the sound of his seductive, velvety voice whispering to me in the night. I would never again feel the coolness of his skin against mine. Everything had felt far too warm, for far too long now. I would die, and he would keep on living, neither knowing or caring that I was gone. None of them would know, and none of them would care. They were all out there somewhere at this moment, never sleeping, never aging. They were happy, without me, and always would be. A deep dark hole ripped open in my chest, and everything went black.

**E POV**

I function. I move. I breathe.

It is easy for them to see what they want to believe.

I am cold. I am stone. I am Nothing.

I work. I speak. I feed. I am nothing.

I smile. I laugh. I LIE. I am nothing.

I exist and cannot die. I am nothing.

Soon she will die, and _all_ will turn to dust.

**A POV**

There was nothing that I, or anyone else could do for Edward now. It was too late, Bella was old, and she was dying. _My best friend was dying._ The time for saving her had come and gone and he had done nothing. None of us had done anything. _We never should have gone in the first place_. Oh what i wouldn't give to have never left forks! This was not even worth one thousand days of shopping. For weeks now I had been hiding my visions of Bella's death from Edward, having already seen that he would go straight to the Volturi. If only I had seen what would happen before we had left! It could all have been avoided, she could be here with us now, if I had only acted against Edward.

A vicious snarl came from upstairs. _Sorry. _I thought. I was not sorry. This had affected the whole family. I didn't know if we would ever get over it. Anything that would have been difficult had been made ever harder by Jasper's projections. There was a hole in our family that no-one could fix. There was nothing to be done.

My eyes clouded over as the inevitable happened. _Her future has disappeared. She is dead then. There is only so much longer I can hide this from Edward._

At that moment I felt the pain of losing my friend more than I ever had. Soon I would lose my brother too. I wished I could cry.

"I'm sorry Alice" Edward whispered, suddenly behind me. He looked awful.

I Had almost forgotten what Edward had looked like before. When he was happy. I wished beyond reason, that there was some way, _any_ way, that I could fix, what we had all played our part in breaking.

**B POV**

My eyelids fluttered as I struggled to open them. Death must be close now.

DINNNG!

_what was that?_

DINNNG!

_it sounded like Charlie's clock_

DINNNG!

_but it hadn't chimed in years._

_DINNNG!_

_Something was certainly chiming._

DINNNG!

It stopped.

Now I knew something was off. Five o'clock had been and gone, just before I had fainted. I wasn't sure how long I had been out, Maybe I was still out. That would explain why the clock was chiming. Maybe I was dead. That would do it too.

"Hey Bells. You feelin' better?" said a voice that came from somewhere behind me. I opened my eyes, and Charlie stepped into view. Now I knew I was dead... I must be, since Charlie had died _twenty-three_ years ago.

"Argg. What happened?" I rasped, as I stood up.

My voice sounded strange.

"You hit your head honey." Charlie said worriedly.

_Of course I did. Could I seriously not go one day without injuring myself somehow? These sorts of things were fatal at my age._

"How?" I asked stupidly, only partially feigning confusion. I didn't remember colliding with anything.

"You did it coming off the plane Bells, sorry to say I had to tell your mom. She just kept on calling when you didn't let her know you arrived yesterday."

_Could you still hit your head in the afterlife? _Surely that was where I was? Although, come to think about it, I just looked like... no, it _was_ Charlie's living room.

For a moment, I didn't care where I was, because Charlie and Renee were here. Half of my mind, which could not let go, chipped in... _and he would never be._ He would always be... _there. As far away from you as you could dare to imagine._

I let out a small whimper, and Charlie came closer, looking concerned. _Strange_, I thought to myself, _he didn't seem old, his hair and moustache were still dark brown._ There was not a grey hair in sight. Now that I looked around, in fact, nothing really seemed old, although I was looking at exactly the same things as I saw every day. It was the most peculiar feeling. Maybe that was what the afterlife did, _if that's where I was. _Maybe it made everything young again. I got up, quickly and without hindrance. This was not something I was used to in recent years.

"Hang on a sec Dad" I said absentmindedly, as I went to find a mirror. _Maybe I was young again too?_ I took the stairs with ease. It was a freeing feeling. Getting quickly more excited, I began to take two stairs at a time. I rushed into the bathroom, only stopping, when I was right in front of the large, oval shaped mirror. I had not thought out clearly what I was expecting to see when I got there. I only know, that whatever I thought I was going to see, could not have protected me from the shock that coursed through me. I stared, open mouthed at my reflection. I ran my fingers through my thick, mahogany hair, unconvinced of the reality of the situation. I looked... _like me_ again. My physical appearance was exactly the same as it had been, at the time that I had first met _him_. The only thing that was off, were the clothes I was wearing. My reflections face looked confused. _Exactly what I had been wearing yesterday_. I pondered this for a moment. Whoever put me here had the power to change my age, and appearance, but not my _clothes_? Alice would have had a fit if _she_ could see them._ How I missed Alice. _It took all I had not to start sobbing. _She could never be where I was now, because she could never die. _

I thought back to my conversation with Charlie. It felt like a long time since we had talked, when in reality it had only been moments ago. He had clearly been very worried about me, and I had rushed off without explanation. Sighing softly, I stared into my reflection's eyes, lost in thought, trying to work out how I felt about this new situation. As I did this, a distressing thought struck me, _What had I been doing on a plane?_ I should have, perhaps, wondered this before, but I had been too distracted by my new and unexpected circumstances.

I racked my brain, trying to keep the edge of panic from my thoughts, but no answer revealed itself to me. I had no reason to be on a plane, especially if this _was _the afterlife. Curiosity got the better of me, and before i knew it, I was moving, hastily exiting the bathroom. _Charlie would know._

"Dad" I said hesitantly, as I entered the living room. I wanted to be subtle about this. Unfortunately, subtle was not my speciality. "What plane did you say I was on?"

Charlie looked up from the paper he had started to read, and said with a warm smile, "Phoenix Bells - Phoenix to Seattle."

This new revelation had certainly given me much to think about. Trying to fight off the onset of complete and utter panic, I levelled my voice, which I'm sure would have otherwise come out well over two octaves higher than it did.

"Oh," I said, with as much conviction as I could muster. "I remember now." Charlie looked relieved.

_I didn't remember a thing._


	2. Chapter Two

**I don't own twilight: A/N: this could be a confusing chapter, anyone with any questions feel free to ask!  
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**A POV 2058**

Abruptly the vision ended. Without pausing to draw breath, I rushed out of the living room of our house in Alaska, and into my drawing room, rummaging through the oak chest of draws. I soon found what I was looking for. "What was that all about?" Grumbled Emmet from the other room. I ignored him. I pulled out a pad of paper, and a pen. The paper was thick, and heavy. It could endure many years without being damaged. I began to write a letter, which I would not have to deliver for some time.

**A POV 2071**

The strong smell of new leather attacked my nostrils, as I Walked into the only shoe shop in forks. I was dressed from head to toe in absolutely hideous clothing. I would throw away all of these items the _second_ I got home. However, at present, I needed to disguise who I was thoroughly. I knew it was risky for me to go to Forks. There were still too many people who would remember the Cullens from our brief stay there.

I still could not understand the vision that I had thirteen years ago. I had no idea how my actions would affect anything at all. I was acting out of desperation and I knew it. Unfortunately, my vision gave me not one scrap of information, about why I was doing this. As I had been watching a game of cards between Emmet and Jasper in 2058 I had had a vision of myself writing a letter. I knew in no uncertain terms what the letter said, and that in itself was a mystery. I had also seen in my vision that the letter would not be "delivered" for thirteen years. In order to deliver it I must sneak into a shoe shop in forks in 2071 and slip the letter underneath the inner linings of a very specific pair of shoes. I made my way towards what I recognised to be _the shoes_, at what would be a fast human pace. They looked rather ordinary. _Plain black leather pumps. Not even heels. _I looked at my watch. I had five minutes, until I had to leave, according to the vision. I picked up the left shoe, and lifted up the inner lining, placing the scrap of paper underneath. I made sure that it was secure, and sealed it back down again. It was as I was making my way towards the door that I smelled a familiar scent, that made the back of my throat burn. _Bella._ She was so old. _Edward could never find out about this._ Her skin was saggy and worn, and her once chocolate brown eyes had become diluted and glassy. They were surrounded by lumpy grey bags. _She must not be sleeping well. _She looked so empty. I wanted to reach out and touch her, but she could not know that I was ever here. She lifted her gaze, and her eyes locked with mine. I exited the shop faster than I should have done, but not before hearing a whispered, strangled cry of ..."_Alice?" _ My window of hope was narrow, and thin, but in that moment I was fuelled by it.

**Jazz POV 2004**

"...and then I had the best idea," she squeaked excitedly, "I would make another one, in the same style, even with the same fabric - but in blue!"

"Sounds wonderful darlin'" I replied.

"oh Jazz, I'm so glad..."

A look appeared that I had seen play across her stunningly beautiful face a thousand times or more. Her eyes glazed over, and her lips stilled. She looked right through me, seeing something far away.

Suddenly, she spoke.

"She's here..." Alice announced. Her voice portrayed no emotion, but a look of complete and utter joy, spread across her face.

Faster than blinking she came back to me.

"who's here darlin'?" I questioned, confused. _We weren't expecting anyone._

Her expression changed. Her brows furrowed and she looked directly into my eyes.

"I don't know" she said.

**E POV 2004**

I felt...unusual. It was on the tip of my tongue, and yet...

Vampires don't forget things, so why did I feel like I had forgotten something so simple and important it was life altering. That was a big thing, for a vampire. Not many things _could_ alter a vampire's life. I felt like I had forgotten that it got dark at night-time. Except that wasn't it. Something...else.

**B POV 2004**

I was just as confused as ever, as I stood in the bathroom brushing my teeth later that night. I was not a vain person, however, I couldn't help but stare at my reflection. I was not yet used to seeing myself as a young woman, and each look in the mirror forced me to gasp in shock. Charlie had said that I would be starting forks high school tomorrow. That threw me beyond belief. A nervous feeling ran through me, which gave me the urge to vomit more and more with each passing moment. I hoped I had some clothes here other than what I had woken up in, because the "new" girl was not going to be popular if I didn't. _Not that I cared_. I was starting to hope that this _was_ the afterlife, the alternative was too much to think about. I spat into the sink, and looked in the mirror one more time before turning the lights out, exiting the bathroom quietly, and closing the door behind me with a dull _thud_. As I took a step towards my bedroom, something dug into my foot. I ignored it and took another step. A sharp pain came from my heel. I continued this way for the few remaining steps until I reached my room. The pain in my foot wasn't unbearable, but it was annoying. I sat down on my purple bedspread and took my shoes off. Holding them up, I noticed something sticking out from under the lining of the left shoe. I tugged, and a piece of folded paper came out. Instantly burning with curiosity, I turned it over. What I saw surprised me so much, that I had to check at least three times before, I was sure I was not imagining things. No, It was unmistakable.

_Bella Swan_

I recognised the handwriting, I remembered it without a second's hesitation. _Alice._ Hungry for answers to the questions which riddled my brain, I unfolded what appeared to be a letter.

_Dear Bella,_

_It is of dire importance that you find Alice Cullen, and upon your meeting produce this letter._ _Bella I miss you, All my love, Alice._

There was a second part to the letter, and i read on._  
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_Dear Alice, I don't know where you are, I only know where I am, and that is writing to you from the year 2058. Trust me when i say that Bella is very important. Fix This. Its up to you now. Love, Alice._

I didn't know what to think. I didn't know what to do...and more than ever I was confused. I stripped and got into bed, all the while on autopilot, unable to make sense of anything which wasn't completely straightforward. A ball of dread, and a spark of hope battled for the claim of my stomach as I clutched the letter tightly, lay down and begged for sleep to enfold me.


	3. Chapter Three

**I don't own Twilight.**

** A/N: Anything in Bold text is a direct quote from either twilight or midnight sun.**

_Previous Chapter:_

_A ball of dread, and a spark of hope battled for the claim of my stomach as I clutched the letter, lay down and begged for sleep to enfold me._

**B POV**

My eyes shot open. It had all been a dream. I was in my room, and I _most definitely was not_ beginning Forks High School today. I had finished High School sixty-seven years ago. The entire concept was nothing less than ridiculous. I fought back a nauseous feeling, and moved to cover my mouth with my hands. The trouble was, there was already something in my hands. I stared blankly at what I was holding. It read:

_Bella Swan. _

My heart stuttered. I looked down at my body. My skin was smooth. As though this was not enough proof, I leapt up and practically ran into the bathroom. I was amazed that i didn't trip, though the distance was short. I closed my eyes, and walked towards the mirror. My knees felt weak. _Look_. Do it quick. _Like ripping off a plaster._ I thought. _Don't be too disappointed when you realise none of this is real. _

When I opened my eyes I truly expected to see an old lady staring back at me. She would mock me, empty. _I told you so_, her eyes would all but scream. The jolt of despair that I was expecting to feel when I opened my eyes never came. _1, 2, 3... _

_My heart stammered._

Her face was smooth, there were no blotches, imperfections, or wrinkles. There were no heavy protruding bags surrounding her eyes. Her lips wee full, and pink, not withered and thin, and her long mahogany hair hung in waves, almost to her waist. My stomach soared. Sleep had not embraced me for hours, after I had read the letter the night before. I had had time to think. There was only one logical explanation for all of this, no matter how farfetched it sounded. I examined the facts. When i woke up yesterday afternoon, I was no longer an old woman, but I was wearing old woman clothes. Charlie and Renee were very much here. _Alive?_ I didn't know. I was almost convinced I had reached the afterlife, until I had found a letter from Alice Cullen in my shoe, which, I might add, she seemed to know that I would find. Alice Cullen was not dead, in the traditional sense of the word, so how could she be writing to me if I were in the afterlife? _I was not in the afterlife._ This much I now knew. I had not believed in vampires, or werewolves, and yet they existed. This was how I reached my conclusion. I was fairly certain, now bordering on absolutely sure, that it was currently 2004.

_Edward. _If my theory was correct, then I would see Edward again today_, and he wouldn't remember me at all. He wouldn't have even met me yet._ If it weren't for the letter i had received- somewhat unconventionally- from Alice, nothing could have held back the onslaught of hysteria. As it was, I prepared myself for school, ate my breakfast and clambered into my truck, questioning my sanity all the way. I did not like to think it, but this was the silent third option. _I was insane_. Before I knew it, I was at the front desk. _Breathe._

**The red-haired woman looked up. "Can I help you?" **_Deja-vu._

**"I'm Isabella Swan," I informed her, and saw the immediate awareness light her eyes.** This-I was sure- was for the second time.

**"Of course," she said. She dug through a precariously stacked pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." **I almost snorted. I did not need a map of the school.

**When I went back out to my truck, other students were starting to arrive. I drove around the school, following the line of traffic, **my eyessearching endlessly, flicking from car to car, until... they stopped, widening. There, a few spaces from the gate, was parked a _shiny, silver Volvo_. The breath was instantaneously knocked out of me. I didn't know whether to rejoice or keel over. Not wanting to be caught staring, I quickly began to make my way to English, my mind buzzing.

Everything was just the way I remembered it and I felt surprisingly comfortable with being there. When I had been to Forks High School _before_, I had been catatonic. The place was riddled with memories. _He was here. Now._

**I took my slip up to Mr. Mason. He gawked at me when he saw my name — not an encouraging response — and of course I flushed tomato red. **Just as the old Bella would have done. **He sent me to an empty desk at the back without introducing me to the class. It was harder for my new classmates to stare at me in the back, but somehow, they managed. **It felt surreal seeing all their faces, so full and young. Many of them, were dead in the time I had come from.** I kept my eyes down on the reading list the teacher had given me. It was fairly basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd already read everything.** By myself, and for this class, when I had been here before._Would it be classed as sixty-eight years ago? or__Would it be classed as in the future? Another question that had been hounding me. If it hadn't happened yet, then why did I remember it? _

**When the bell rang, **I saw that Eric Yorkie was approaching me. _This was just like groundhog day._ I realised that I could predict most things that would happen, since I remembered the days events in great detail. **"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" **_Bella. _This was going to be a long day.

**"Bella," I corrected. Everyone within a three-seat radius turned to look at me. **_Again._

The cogs in my mind were spinning in overdrive, considering the possibilities for the day. I was completely zoned out on the conversation I was having with Eric -_ after all - I'd already had it once._

**"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way…" "I'm Eric," he added.****I smiled tentatively. **Inwardly grimacing. **"Thanks."**

The morning dragged on, and I was getting impatient. I was fed up of being introduced to people I already knew. Every moment I spent longing for lunchtime, where I knew Edward would be. _I would finally see him again_, and he would see me for the "first time." I sat with Jess all the way through trig, and Spanish. I was unsure how I had managed that once, without going insane, _never mind twice. _**She prattled on**about anyone and anything that she could find a scrap of gossip on, just as she always had. **I didn't try to keep up. She walked with me to the cafeteria for lunch.**

**We sat at the end of a full table with several of her friends, who she introduced to me. **Unlike my_ first_-first day at Forks, I wasn't worried about what any of them thought of me**. It was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with**out giving out too much information, and ultimately giving the game away,** that I first saw them.**

I began scanning the room the moment I entered it, but only then, did my eyes find them. The scene was exactly as I remembered it, frame by frame, it almost slowed down in my mind.

**They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them.**

I stared at them, transfixed, barely aware of anything that was happening around me. I wasn't sure that my body would be able to cope with the onslaught of emotion attacking my core. Anger, Hatred, Confusion, Longing, Determination, Hurt, Despair, Awe, and Love, earth shattering, raw, and what had proved to be -eternal- love. _I was sure Jasper was having a field day._ I felt ready to combust, as I sat there choking back tears. I had never been more grateful that a vampire could not read my thoughts, _although it may save me from explaining. _I didn't think I could speak, but if I didn't pull myself together, quickly, people would start to notice that there was something _wrong_ with the new girl. _I would do this,_ before I lost my nerve, before I lost my everything, anything, and I got sucked down, down, down, by the blackness. I was determined, I could do this. I opened my mouth, and whispered, under my breath.

**E POV**

_**Edward Cullen. **_

**Reflex reaction. I turned to the sound of my name being called, though it wasn't being called, just thought. My eyes locked for a small portion of a second with a pair of wide, chocolate- brown human eyes set in a pale, heart-shaped face. I knew the face, though I'd never seen it myself before this moment.**_ It looked almost too familiar._** It had been foremost in every human head today. The new student, Isabella Swan. Daughter of the town's chief of police, brought to live here by some new custody situation. Bella. **_I loved the way that collection of syllables sounded. Bella. _

Out of the blue, Jasper's face contorted into the most pained expression I had ever seen. He tried to speak but spluttered instead and his eyes bulged, as he struggled to control the projected emotions. He doubled over, almost unable to handle them. If he didn't get a grip soon, his emotions would affect us all. I decided to step in.

**"Jessica Stanley is giving the new Swan girl all the dirty laundry on the Cullen clan, " I murmured to Emmett as a distraction. He chuckled under his breath. I hope she's making it good, he thought. "Rather unimaginative, actually. Just the barest hint of scandal. Not an ounce of horror. I'm a little disappointed. " And the new girl? Is she disappointed in the gossip as well? "**I don't know," I replied quietly, "I've never been able to hear her." The family turned to me in shock. "When have _you_ ever met _her_?" Alice demanded. " I haven't," I responded quickly, just as confused as the rest of them. " I don't know _why_ I said that." I was distracted, so distracted in fact, that I barely noticed a small voice amongst the other voices. My family around in horror, as the new girl spoke. _"Alice Cullen. I know you can hear me."_

**A/N: Some reviews would be nice!**_** :) what do you think is going to happen next?**  
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